<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Howe Bridge is Falling Down by Miraichaos</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24044767">Howe Bridge is Falling Down</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miraichaos/pseuds/Miraichaos'>Miraichaos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Detroit Evolution - Fandom, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Detroit Evolution, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mentions of Connor and Hank, Minor Injuries, Post-Detroit Evolution, Swearing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:34:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24044767</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miraichaos/pseuds/Miraichaos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Chasing criminals across the Gordie Howe international bridge to Canada is a rare event that Gavin and Nines find themselves caught in. They never expected it to go so wrong.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>156</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Howe Bridge is Falling Down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            In the past, androids would sneak their way from the US to Canada through the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, across the Howe bridge, or attempt to survive the treacherous swim across the Detroit River. Each method came with its own dangers and difficulties, but in the face of death and oppression, it was  worth the risk.</p><p>            After the Revolution, when androids finally gained their freedom, fewer androids fled the country. Rather than going to Canada as escapees, they came and went freely as American citizens. Those who tried sneaking across the border were almost always those who had done wrong and wanted to escape arrest. Such an occurrence was rare, as Canada had been open to android refugees but not criminals, human or android. Even if one managed to cross the border, when Canada got wind of their crimes, they wouldn’t be any safer than they had been in the US. Still, though, the most desperate androids would cross anyway. Typically, they were caught by border security on one side or the other, and those who managed to cross successfully were often apprehended by police in Windsor after a few hours.</p><p>            There were rare occasions, however, in which an android would be is the midst of passing through the tunnel, crossing the bridge, or swimming over the river when they were caught. Such events tended to interrupt the flow of traffic, and if the suspect happened to be armed, sometimes a few cars or boats were damaged by stray bullets. It was hardly ever dangerous, though, and unfortunately, that meant no one had their guard high enough when hidden danger lurked. It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt.</p><p>            Gavin and Nines were out searching when the call came in. Their suspect, an android accused of murdering another android following a heated argument about the Revolution, was caught in a stolen vehicle on the Howe bridge. Somehow, she had passed the border security checkpoint and was on the way to Canada. Crossing the bridge was no short task, but if they didn’t move quickly, the suspect would be in Windsor before they could catch up with her.</p><p>            Gavin whipped the car around the first turn they came upon and made a beeline for the bridge. The car climbed over the speed limit, but he didn’t slow down, and Nines didn’t comment. They had a job to do.</p><p>            The pair reached the bridge in record time, and with a flash of their DPD badges to the border patrol staff, Gavin and Nines were flying down the bridge’s near-empty priority lane.</p><p>            “2034 Subaru Outback, light blue, plates HSD 1329,” Nines announced as he blinked to activate his scanners.</p><p>            “You look for the car, and I’ll make sure we don’t drive off the bridge.” Gavin kept his eyes fixed on the road. “Have any cameras caught her recently, so we can get an idea of her location?”</p><p>            “Nothing that I know of.”</p><p>            Gavin sighed and pressed the accelerator the slightest bit further. Two police cars came into view behind them as more officers joined the chase.</p><p>            “There’s a car one hundred feet ahead matching the make and model of the stolen vehicle. I can’t see the license plate to confirm it, but that might be our lady,” Nines reported after a moment.</p><p>            “Will you be able to see the plates if I get us closer?”</p><p>            “Yes, I should-“</p><p>            Gavin floored the accelerator. He had already surpassed the speed limit on the bridge and proceeded to doubled it as they hurtled toward their suspect. It wasn’t long before the car came into full view.</p><p>            Nines furrowed his eyebrows as he scanned the car. “The plates match.”</p><p>            “Can you tell backup to turn on their lights?”</p><p>            The cop cars following them had been hanging back, but after a few blinks from Nines during which he passed along the message, they suddenly accelerated and turned on their lights. All nearby cars immediately slowed to a stop and edged as close to the side of their lanes as possible. It didn’t do much to open a path to the suspect, but the courtesy was appreciated.</p><p>            The suspect’s vehicle followed suit for a moment, but once it became clear that she was the target, she attempted to move into the priority lane to flee. However, her plan crumbled in the face of one small miscalculation; she had stopped too close to the car in front of her to successfully exit the lane, and the car behind her had stopped too close for her to back up and open enough clearance to get out. The vehicle was trapped.</p><p>            In a last-ditch effort to escape, the suspect threw open her door and scrambled out of the car. Out in the open, she had no way to escape Nines’ scanners.</p><p>            “That’s her. She programmed herself with new identification but didn’t change her serial number. Must have been in a hurry.”</p><p>            Gavin nodded and slammed the breaks as they neared the suspect, who took off on foot. “Most people trying to evade cops are.”</p><p>            The pair jumped out of Gavin’s car and hit the ground running. The suspect was an AK700, a simple domestic model. Had she been a combat model of some sort, her capture would have been in the hands of Nines alone, but even a relatively fit human such as Gavin could exceed her maximum speed.</p><p>            To no one’s surprise, Nines was the first to approach the suspect. He was the Terminator, after all, and easily flew past Gavin, who was sprinting full speed. He closed in quickly, enormously reducing the distance between himself and the suspect with each step.</p><p>            The suspect seemed to notice Nines closing in, as she suddenly changed course. Instead of running down the bridge toward Windsor, she bolted sharply to the right. The android wove between the stopped cars until she reached the edge of the bridge, then climbed up onto the steel beams that separated the lanes of cars from an over one-hundred and fifty-foot drop into the Detroit River.</p><p>            Nines skidded to a stop in the middle of the road as he locked eyes with the suspect, who stared him down from upon the beams with a looming threat. The standstill bought time for Gavin and the other cops to catch up to the scene, though they also slowed as they saw where the android stood. Her message was clear. <em>I will not go willingly. I’d rather die</em>. Androids were typically sturdier than humans, but even they faced pitiful odds in taking such a tall leap. If the suspect jumped, it was unlikely she would survive.</p><p>            “Okay, wait a minute,” Gavin said. He’d been running with his hand on his gun, but he lifted it off and raised his hands in surrender when he confronted the suspect. “You don’t need to go that far.”</p><p>            The android said nothing. Her gaze didn’t flinch as it scanned over the cops surrounding her.</p><p>            Gavin kept his hands up as he took a small step forward. “Jumping off this bridge won’t solve anything. You killed someone, so you have to face the consequences, but you don’t have to do <em>this</em>.”</p><p>            The suspect sneered. “I’ll do what I want. After all those years of being told what to do, I won’t bow down to <em>humans</em> like that bastard did,” she spat. Her victim. The man who had argued with her about coexistence with humans and ended up dead because she didn’t like what she heard. “And I won’t follow some shitty excuse for an android who spends his life hunting his own kind for the cops, either,” she snarled. Her eyes burned into Nines.</p><p>            Nines’ LED briefly flashed red at the words ‘spends his life hunting his own kind,’ though the suspect took no notice. Instead she crouched, grabbed the beam she was on, and climbed down the outside. She paused with her feet two beams down and held the top beam, which was level with her waist. She caught Gavin’s eyes in a challenge that said <em>try anything, and I jump.</em></p><p>            Gavin took another small step forward that made the suspect lean back, but she didn’t let go. “Hey,” he began.</p><p>            “Gavin-“ Nines attempted to interrupt as he watched Gavin shuffle closer to the suspect, but stopped when Gavin glanced back at him.</p><p>            “Look, we really aren’t here to hurt you,” Gavin promised, returning his focus to the suspect. He stepped forward again. “We just want to take you in.” Another step. “You aren’t being deactivated.” Another. “You just need to face the consequences for your actions the same way humans do.” Another. Little by little he closed the distance between himself and the suspect until she was within arm’s reach. If she tried to jump, he could grab her before she fell. “All you have to do is get down from there.”</p><p>            The android narrowed her eyes. “I don’t care if I shut down. I don’t fear death.” Her tone was low and cold. “I won’t bow to humans any longer, even if it means <em>dying</em>.” She spat her words, then, with her glare fixed on Gavin, let go of the beam.</p><p>            Gavin lunged forward and caught the suspect by the front of her jacket. His fist went white from the strain as it kept her upright enough that her feet didn’t slip from the beam she was standing on. His grip was the only thing preventing her fall. He tried to pull her back over the beams to the safety of the bridge when suddenly her mouth split into a venomous grin.</p><p>            “Dumbass,” she hissed. She moved fast, faster than anyone could anticipate. She took advantage of Gavin’s proximity to grab him, one hand locked around his wrist and the other fisted in his jacket, then pulled. She may have been planning to die, but she didn’t intend to do it alone.</p><p>            Nines had inched forward as the suspect focused on Gavin, who was attempting to talk her down. Nines didn’t trust her, not nearly enough to believe she wouldn’t try <em>something</em>. His wariness paid off when the android suddenly grabbed Gavin and yanked on him with more strength than he could have expected to see from an AK700. Gavin was off the ground before he could blink as the android pulled him up and over the beams. She’d managed to catch Gavin off-guard, but the fatal mistake in her actions was forgetting that CyberLife’s most advanced android was standing mere feet away.</p><p>            Nines charged the pair as the suspect pulled Gavin over the beams, calculations and probabilities unfolding in his mind in the smallest fractions of a second. He had processed his options and chosen his plans by the time he reached the android and Gavin seconds after taking off.</p><p>            The android had Gavin halfway across the railing when Nines leapt up and over the highest beam. He dove shoulder-first, slamming into the android with his left side hard enough to break her grip on Gavin and launch her off the railing. At the same time, his right hand found Gavin’s chest and shoved him back over the highest beam and onto the bridge before he could slip over and fall.</p><p>            Unfortunately, the forward momentum associated with Nines’ body slam into the suspect, coupled with the force generated by him pushing Gavin back toward the bridge, was far too much for Nines to compensate for. He was also too far past the beam by the time he managed to push Gavin to safety. There was no chance for him grab anything.</p><p>            Gavin’s eyes went wide as he fell back from the beams and tumbled to the ground, stunned by the apologetic look on Nines’ face as he looked back at Gavin, closed his eyes, and fell to the river below with the suspect.</p><p>            “…Nines?”</p><p>-000-</p><p>            It was a long way down. A long, long way. Even though he was falling fast, Nines felt like he was falling for hours before he hit the water. He’d fallen almost headfirst off the bridge and had no rotation to utilize for changing his position, so his shoulders and upper back hit the water first. His sensors failed for a moment, then slowly began to come back online when he was underwater.</p><p>            Everything was hazy. The light faded exponentially the further Nines sank, and the water in his ears muffled the sounds that reached them. He tried activating his scanners to bring in information where his sensors were failing but received only an error message. It seemed something had been damaged by the fall.</p><p>            <em>What now?</em> Nines wasn’t sure what to do. Androids were capable of swimming, but he was struggling to reconnect with his limbs, which he’d lost connection to following his jarring impact on the water. He couldn’t go up, and as a mixture of heavy plastics and metals with little open space internally, he had no buoyancy. All he could do was sink down, down, down slowly, waiting to regain use of his body.</p><p>            Another eternity passed in the water before something disturbed the surface far above him. It was a dark figure he struggled to make out as his eyes failed to focus properly, and only when it drew closer did he recognize the figure as a diver.</p><p>            The diver swam deep into the river toward Nines, who tried and failed to propel himself upward. He could move his fingers but hadn’t yet regained control over the rest of his body. The diver didn’t seem to notice his struggle as they came closer, then reached for Nines. Their hands wrapped around his arm in a vice-like grip, then they paused, oriented their self, and started toward the surface. It was a slow endeavor as the lone diver fought the water and the weight of their self, their equipment, and a large android, but the water around them lightened and lightened promisingly until they eventually broke through the surface.</p><p>            Multiple pairs of hands reached over the side of a bright orange border patrol boat hardly bigger than a recreational speedboat. The people on board hauled Nines out of the water, up over the side of the boat, then set him on the floor as carefully as they could handle a sopping wet android. They then reached back out for the diver, who they hauled in after Nines.</p><p>            Nines blinked and swiveled his head to test his mobility, though he regretted it when he turned to the side and found himself inches away from the face of the android woman who he’d been chasing. Her LED was dark. </p><p>            “She wasn’ as lucky as yeh. Wasn’ doin’ very good when we pulled ‘er outta’ the water- was even in a few pieces by then. She shut down jus’ a minute later while we were lookin’ for you,” one of the officers explained.</p><p>            Nines looked up to meet the officer’s gaze. “Oh, uh, thank you for pulling me out,” he said. He tried lifting his arm, but it only rose a few inches. “It might be a moment before I can stand, though. My motor controls went offline upon impact with the water, and it’s taking some time to get them back.”</p><p>            The officer shook her head. “Take however long yeh need. After how far yeh fell, I’m surprised anything works at all.” She paused, then offered a hand. “I’ll help yeh sit up. A little movement might help speed up the process.”</p><p>            Nines nodded in agreement, then lifted his hand as high as he could. The officer dropped her hand low enough to meet his, then pulled him upright and helped him turn so he was leaning against the side of the boat. “Thanks,” he said.</p><p>            The officer nodded, then turned to the rest of the crew. They secured everything in the boat, then started the motor and turned toward the American side of the river. The boat moved slow at first, then picked up a little speed, but wasn’t going anywhere close to max speed. “Yeh good?” the woman shouted at Nines, glancing back at him. He nodded. The boat was going too slow to be thrown about by the choppy water of the river, so he was hardly jostled. It was a kind gesture from the crew that Nines appreciated, especially since he wasn’t aware of the extent of his internal damage. Too much excess movement might leave him with a longer list of repairs.</p><p>            The boat slowed as it reached a small craft dock on the American side. The crew tied the boat up, then set the dead android and her disconnected pieces on a tarp before rolling her up. It wasn’t an embroidered shroud, but it was enough to move her from water to land for proper care. She was removed from the boat first, carried off by the crew with the help of the DPD officers who were waiting for them at the dock. More than half a dozen police cars were on the scene, and everyone crowded around to help the border patrol officers unload what they’d recovered.</p><p>            The officer who had spoken with Nines before was the first to return to the boat. She knelt in front of him and looked him over for obvious physical damage. “Yeh think yeh can walk?” she asked.</p><p>            Nines nodded and planted his hands at his sides. He moved slowly, but managed to rise to his feet on his own. His body felt stiff, and his limbs were oddly heavy, but he was able to climb out of the boat and onto land without assistance. He tugged at his soaked clothes in a fruitless attempt to straighten them and wiped a thirium-smeared hand on the leg of his pants before he lifted his head and searched the cluster of officers for familiar faces.</p><p>            Fowler, who had gone to inspect the remains of the suspect when they were brought off the boat, made his way to Nines before anyone else could.</p><p>            “Are you alright?” Fowler asked, looking Nines up and down. He grimaced when he looked at Nines’ face, and the android lifted his hand to touch a small stream of thirium that dribbled from his nose.</p><p>            “I’ve been better, but I’m still in one piece,” Nines replied with a glance at the tarp containing the body of the suspect. He wiped his hand on his pants again.</p><p>            Fowler sighed. “That makes one of you.” Nines didn’t have time to speak again before movement caught his attention and his gaze met wide, bloodshot eyes.</p><p>            A smile tugged at Nines’ lips as he stepped toward Gavin, though it slipped when he noticed butterfly bandages strapped over a gash on the detective’s temple. He thought Gavin has escaped the encounter with the suspect unscathed, though it seemed that wasn’t the case.</p><p>            Gavin stormed toward Nines, but the android was oblivious to his furious gait. Nines was too focused on Gavin’s wound, straining to force his damaged scanners to activate so he could analyze it.</p><p>            “Gavin-“ Nines began as the detective neared. He raised a hand to touch Gavin’s head and study his wound, as even without his scanners, he could estimate the severity of the wound by simply looking at it like human doctors did. However, he was abruptly stopped when Gavin slapped his hand away and twisted his fist in the front of Nines’ soaked shirt. Gavin rose onto his toes so their faces were mere inches apart, his eyebrows furrowed intensely.</p><p>            “What the <em>fuck</em> were you <em>thinking</em>?!” Gavin hissed. His grip on Nines’ shirt tightened, and Nines nearly fell forward from the pull.</p><p>            Nines frowned. “Gavin, your head-“</p><p>            “Fuck off about my fuckin’ head! You just jumped off a fuckin’ bridge!”</p><p>            “I didn’t <em>jump</em>-“</p><p>            “<em>Yes you fuckin’ did!</em>” Gavin let go of Nines and shoved him backwards. The android was so stunned that he stumbled back a few steps. “What the fuck was that? You could have died you piece of shit!”</p><p>            The LED on Nines’ head flashed red as he struggled to formulate a response. “Well, yes, I supposed there was an element of danger involved, but the suspect was about to drag you over the railing-“</p><p>            “So <em>what?</em>” Gavin snarled, shoving Nines backwards again. “You want to play hero? Huh? Save the fragile little meat sack from taking a swim because you’re the big bad tin can and you can handle anything? Yeah, right, that’s why you’re dripping thirium everywhere like a leaky fuckin’ pipe!”</p><p>            “Gavin, wait,” Nines said, holding up his hands defensively. “I understand that you’re upset, but you almost certainly would have died had I not intervened-“</p><p>            “You didn’t <em>intervene</em>, Nines. You shoved me into concrete while I watched you fall a hundred sixty-some fuckin’ feet into the Detroit fuckin’ River!”</p><p>            “Yes, you did land on concrete, so you should let me at least look at your wound-“ Nines reached for Gavin again, but Gavin mercilessly swatted his hand away once more and jabbed Nines’ chest with a finger.</p><p>            “I don’t need robo-Superman swooping in to save me like I’m Lois fuckin’ Lane,” Gavin snarled.</p><p>            “I’m just looking out for your wellbeing since you’re my partner-“</p><p>            “I’m not <em>jack shit</em>, and you-“ Gavin jabbed Nines’ chest again “-don’t need to ‘look out’ for <em>anything</em>!”</p><p>            With another hearty shove, Gavin stormed off. Nines could only watch, his lips slightly parted in shock as Gavin stomped to his car, which was parked near the dock, got in, slammed the door, and sped off so quickly that he couldn’t possibly have taken the time to buckle his seat belt.</p><p>            A hand clapped Nines’ shoulder and pulled him from his stupor. The android glanced to the side to see Fowler standing next to him. “Give him some time to cool down,” Fowler recommended, shooting Nines a glance. “No one’s happy after seeing their partner get hurt, especially when they’re a hothead to start with. You should’ve seen Anderson rip Connor a new one for taking a bullet to catch a perp just after the Revolution.” Fowler sighed and shook his head. “The poor kid probably would have felt better if Anderson had just pulled his gun out and shot him a second time. Don’t take it personally.”</p><p>            Nines nodded numbly but gave no response. He was silent until he was handed off to another officer and taken to a CyberLife repair facility in town, where he answered all the questions he was asked in a flat, detached tone. The tech didn’t mention Nines’ clear distraction, either too focused on their job or not intrigued enough to care.</p><p>            His repair took hours, but it passed in such a haze that Nines couldn’t recall exactly how long he’d lain on the hard table in the operation room while a series of mechanical arms controlled by the CyberLife tech opened, removed, replaced, and repaired all the damage he’d sustained when he fell. It was a long list of things, from major components to small pieces that either required repair or replacement, but none of it seemed to matter. His physical damage meant nothing in the face of the emotional turmoil that whirled within, questions and doubts dancing with memories of Gavin’s harsh words at the dock.</p><p>            When Nines emerged from the repair room in clean, dry clothes dropped off by the DPD, he was surprised to find Tina waiting for him in the building’s lobby. The sight made his lips turn up in a smile.</p><p>            “Tina,” he greeted.</p><p>            Tina returned Nines’ smile, then gestured toward the door. “I’m your chauffeur for tonight. The car is parked out front.”</p><p>            Nines wordlessly followed Tina out of the building after paying for his repairs with the DPD’s account and settled in the passenger seat of her car uncomfortably. He couldn’t stop fidgeting with his fingers as an unasked question burned like acid on his tongue.</p><p>            “What is it?”</p><p>            He hadn’t been hiding his unease, but Nines was still caught off guard by Tina bringing it up. It took him a moment to put the words together in his mind before he could speak them.</p><p>            “Gavin… is he still… angry with me?”</p><p>            Tina snorted and started the car. “What do you mean, angry?”</p><p>            Nines frowned. “At the dock, the first and last thing Gavin did was yell at me for intervening when the suspect attacked him. He got angry when I tried to talk to him and stormed off without letting me analyze his wound.”</p><p>            “He’s not mad, Nines. Not at all.” Tina shook her head and peeked around as she pulled onto the road. “Look. I don’t think you saw it, since he was facing away from you, but… Chris and I had just arrived at the scene when Gavin stormed off. We were walking over when he went to his car, so we saw his face,” she explained. She glanced at Nines. “Gavin was crying. It’s probably why he ran off like that. He hates it when other people see him upset, and he refuses to cry in front of anyone, let alone half of the DPD.”</p><p>            “Oh.” Nines’ jaw clenched. He hadn’t known… He thought Gavin left because he looked pissed, maybe so much so that he wanted to beat the shit out of Nines then and there but couldn’t without damaging him even more.</p><p>            Tina nodded. “I don’t want to say too much, since it isn’t really my business, but Chris ran into Gavin at the precinct after everyone left the dock. Fowler was sending Gavin home because he looked murderous- well, more than usual. It was making everyone uneasy. Chris walked him out and got him to talk.”</p><p>            If androids could sweat, Nines would have needed to wipe his palms on his pants. “What… did he say?” he asked slowly.</p><p>            “When you fell off the bridge-“ she paused and bit her lip, her brow furrowing. Nines noticed her pulse suddenly elevate in a typical stress pattern. Whatever she was about to tell him, she didn’t want to say it.</p><p>            “Tina.”</p><p>            Tina sighed and shook her head, her eyes fixed on the road. “He thought you were dead, Nines.” She shook her head again. “He thought he was watching you die again, just like when he found you in the alleyway after Ada attacked you. It broke him to see you fall off the bridge, thinking they’d never be able to find you. Or at least not <em>all</em> of you. As far as Gavin knew, the crew that picked you up was going to be fishing pieces of android out of the river all day.”</p><p>            Nines clenched his fists in his lap. “I didn’t realize,” he admitted. “I knew there was a risk associated with the fall, but the probability that I’d survive outweighed the probability that I wouldn’t. Meanwhile, the probability of a human surviving the fall is almost zero. If I hadn’t intervened, Gavin-“</p><p>            “Would have fallen instead,” Tina finished. “That’s the problem, Nines. He isn’t used to other people looking after him like that. Gavin’s always either worked alone or led a team. He’s used to taking all the hits himself, even if it’ll probably kill him. He might be an asshole, but he doesn’t like to see other people get hurt, especially for his sake.”</p><p>            “I know,” Nines agreed. He was fidgeting with his fingers again.</p><p>            The two fell silent, and they didn’t speak again for the rest of the ride. However, Nines soon realized that they weren’t headed to the DPD. Usually, he would have asked, but he trusted Tina enough to stay quiet and wait.</p><p>            To the Nines’ surprise, Tina eventually stopped the car in front of Gavin’s house.</p><p>            “You should talk to him,” she said as she put the car in park. “He’ll probably tell you to leave, but we both know that’s not what he really wants. It’s not like he’ll throw you out if you insist on staying, anyway. He can’t say no to you.”</p><p>            “He likes to act like he can, though.” Nines almost smiled as he spoke. The jab would have been funny, but the atmosphere in the car was too heavy. “Thanks for the ride, Tina. Get home safe,” he said before exiting the car. Nines shut the door behind him, gave Tina a wave, then stood and watched her pull away. Once her car was out of sight, he turned toward Gavin’s house and slowly approached the door.</p><p>            Nines raised a hesitant fist to knock, waging an internal war as he tried to talk himself into continuing. It was likely that Gavin would immediately blow up at him again, but not confronting Gavin and acting as if the events of the day hadn’t happened at all didn’t seem like a good idea either. No matter what Nines chose to do, he would have to talk to Gavin eventually, and knowing the two of them, it was best to get it over with before they had too much time to think about it.</p><p>            The door was cool on Nines’ knuckles as he gently rapped it. He dropped his hand and gaze to the ground as he waited, ears straining for the sound of footsteps. There was nothing, not a single creak. Nines frowned and activated his scanners. He scanned the garage. The car was there, so Gavin had to be home.</p><p>            Nines raised his fist to knock again, but the door suddenly swung open and left his hand hovering in the air as he met Gavin’s gaze.</p><p>            Gavin looked awful. The circles around his eyes seemed darker than usual, and the redness of his bloodshot eyes had increased in intensity since Nines last saw him. His hair was a mess like he’d run his hands through it a thousand times, and he was still dressed in the same disheveled clothes he’d been wearing during the chase on the bridge; a few drops of blood stained his shirt.</p><p>            Nines slowly lowered his hand. “Can I come in?”</p><p>            Gavin stared for a moment, then stepped backward and out of the way with the door left open. A tiny smile graced Nines’ lips as he crossed the threshold. Gavin shut the door behind him, then the pair stood in silence with their eyes on the ground, unwilling to meet each other’s gaze.</p><p>            “How’s your head?” Nines asked cautiously, glancing up at Gavin.</p><p>            Gavin kept his eyes on the ground, but he raised a hand to touch his temple. “It’s fine.” He paused. “It’s not like I fell of a bridge.”</p><p>            Nines nodded. “It’s good you didn’t. After all, the probability that you would survive such a fall is less than ten percent.”</p><p>            Gavin sighed and finally looked up at Nines. “What about you?”</p><p>            “At least sixty percent, likely higher. It’s hard to tell since my durability was never tested to its fullest extent by CyberLife.”</p><p>            “And yet you jumped anyway.”</p><p>            “Gavin-“</p><p>            Gavin held up a hand to stop Nines. “Don’t. Just… don’t. I don’t care what the probability of a is relative to the probability of b, or whatever shit goes through your head. None of that changes the fact that I could easily have a new partner right now, and you could be in a fuckin’ dumpster next to Howe bridge.” He stopped and sucked in a deep breath. “You think I want to deal with that? You think I’d be fine working with some other dipshit when I’ve already spent over a year dealing with your perfect fuckin’ face and annoying-ass scans? You think I lost my shit in an alley when you were <em>literally dying</em> because I could handle just-“ Gavin waved his hands sharply in a dismissive manner “-fuckin’ going on with my day like nothing happened?”</p><p>            “I just didn’t want you to get hurt-“</p><p>            “What, so instead I have to sit on my ass and watch <em>you</em> get hurt? I get to sit there and do nothing because there’s nothing I <em>can</em> do?” Gavin’s eyes were starting to water, and his voice was getting louder. “Do you have <em>any</em> idea what I was thinking when you fell over the railing?”</p><p>
  <em>            Gavin felt himself slip over the top beam on the side of the bridge. He was going to fall, his body looming in the air so far above the river that he could hardly hear it rushing down below. He didn’t have anything to grab to keep himself from going over; the suspect had him in a death grip, and everything was happening so fast-</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            Something came into view at his side, and Gavin glanced over in time to see Nines leap over the beams next to him and slam into the suspect, who was knocked away from the bridge and into open air. Her grip on Gavin’s jacket went slack, but he was too far over. He was already starting to fall, but in that same moment, Nines’ hand slammed into his chest and sent him back in the other direction. The force twisted his body, and the cement closed in on his head. His temple collided with the ground, but he was too focused on the scene in front of him to feel the pain. The suspect was falling, but so was Nines. He was looking at Gavin as he started to drop, then his eyes slid closed as he fell out of sight. Gavin could only watch.</em>
</p><p>            No.<em> The word wouldn’t come out of his throat, but it echoed in Gavin’s mind.</em> No. No. No. <em>Nines couldn’t have fallen. He was the terminator. He was the strongest android CyberLife had ever made. Surely he hadn’t fallen. But he never came back into view. His head didn’t peek above the beams, and his voice never called out. </em></p><p>
  <em>            Slowly Gavin pushed himself upright, then rose wobbly to his feet. He stumbled as he stepped toward the beams and caught himself on one when a wave of dizziness struck him. He looked over the railing, searching for Nines, but all he saw was the river. No one was hanging from the bridge. No one’s head bobbed above the water far below. There was nothing. Nothing at all.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            Hands grabbed Gavin’s arms and pulled him away from the railing. He tried to fight it at first, but another wave of dizziness followed by explosive pain in his temple stole every ounce of his strength. That’s right. He’d hit his head after Nines pushed him. Gavin could faintly feel blood trickling down the side of his face, but he paid it no attention. His gaze stayed on the air beside the bridge, the last place he’d seen Nines, as his legs folded beneath him and he crumbled to the ground. </em>
</p><p>            Gavin grabbed the front of Nines’ shirt just like he had back at the dock. “There have been so many nights that I woke up yelling your name because I walked into that alley and found you dead on the concrete. Your LED was off, or your chest was ripped open… sometimes you’d even be standing there like you were fine, then suddenly fall and <em>never get back</em> <em>up</em>.” Gavin’s voice had faded to a strained whisper. “It was shitty enough to spend each night thinking I was freezing to death on the street and no one was coming to help me, but watching you die? Knowing all I could do was watch? That I couldn’t save you no matter how fast I ran? I was <em>helpless</em>, and it fuckin’ <em>sucked</em>. The only reason I could ever fall asleep was because I knew I could call you, and you’d answer with your annoying fuckin’ perfect voice and tell me it didn’t happen. But what now? What am I gonna’ do now that it’s real? How am I supposed to close my eyes when all I’ll see is you falling off that fuckin’ bridge again and again, never coming out of the fuckin’ river, and it’s all my fuckin’ <em>fault</em>?!”</p><p>            Gavin was shaking by the time he finished, but his grip on Nines’ collar only tightened even as the tears pooling in his eyes started to drip down his cheeks.</p><p>            Nines shook his head and set a hand on the one Gavin had wrapped in his shirt. “Nothing is your fault, Gavin. You didn’t do anything wrong.”</p><p>            “<em>Everything</em> is my fault,” Gavin hissed. “<em>I </em>chose to drop out of school and deal red ice. <em>I </em>pissed you off and let you walk alone with Ada. And if I hadn’t let that lady grab me today, you wouldn’t have had to save me. You wouldn’t have fallen. You would’ve stayed on that fuckin’ bridge.”</p><p>            “That’s not true, Gavin. You made mistakes because you didn’t know better. When I was attacked by Ada, you got me to CyberLife before the damage to my software was irreparable. And that android today? You didn’t <em>let</em> her do anything. You were just trying to do your job, and when it went bad, I did mine,” Nines said. “The DPD needs your experience, and if I hadn’t intervened, you would’ve died.”</p><p>            Gavin pulled on Nines’ collar so their faces were nearly level as he glared at Nines with his bloodshot, teary eyes. “Then you should’ve <em>let</em> me.”</p><p>            Nines clenched his jaw, then he reached out, grabbed Gavin’s shoulder, and pulled. He wrapped his arms around Gavin, held him tight, and let his head fall lightly against the uninjured side of Gavin’s. “Don’t say that,” he whispered. “Never say that. I will <em>never</em> let you die.” Nines clenched the back of Gavin’s shirt in his fingers. “And you promised you weren’t going anywhere.”</p><p>            “So did you.”</p><p>            “And I didn’t.”</p><p>            Gavin didn’t respond, but he slowly started to relax in Nines’ hold. He made no move to push Nines away, opting instead to slowly release his hold on Nines’ shirt, raise his arms, and wrap them around Nines in return.</p><p>            Neither knew how long they stood in the living room wrapped in each other’s embrace, but they didn’t part until Gavin started to waver. He stepped away and pressed a hand to his temple with a wince.</p><p>            “Let me see,” Nines said. He reached out and took Gavin’s face in gentle hands, turning it to the side the slightest bit as his scanners activated. He stared at the wound for a moment, then touched it carefully with his thumb. “It looks much worse than it is. You must’ve lost a lot of blood, though.”</p><p>            Gavin nodded. “Yeah. The paramedics wouldn’t shut up about that.”</p><p>            “…I’m sorry.” Nines kept his hold on Gavin’s face.</p><p>            Gavin frowned and brought his hands up to cover Nines’. “What for?”</p><p>            Nines didn’t speak, but his thumb brushed over the wound on Gavin’s temple again, and his eyes remained fixated on it.</p><p>            “Don’t worry about it, Nines. You did what you could in the time you had.”</p><p>            Nines wanted to refute, but he could see in Gavin’s eyes that the detective was tired. It had been a long day, and Gavin was injured. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to argue over what they should and shouldn’t blame themselves for.</p><p>            “You should try to get some sleep,” Nines said, finally pulling away. Gavin nodded and shivered. He had been comfortable until they separated, Nines’ warmth gone. Not too long ago he would’ve hated being so close to an android. Now, here he was, wishing he could stay in the arms of one forever.</p><p>            “Yeah. I gotta go, uh, change my clothes.” Gavin turned and left without another word. He shook his head as if it would rid the thoughts from it. It wasn’t the time to be thinking about his past self and the things he used to believe. He wasn’t that person anymore, and it was all because of the android he’d left standing in his living room.</p><p>            Gavin returned a few minutes later in pajamas and approached Nines slowly. “Were you going to go?” he asked.</p><p>            Nines shrugged and bit the inside of his cheek to hide the disappointment that threatened to show on his face. “I can, yeah.” He stepped toward the door and reached for the handle.</p><p>            “You, uh, you don’t have to. If you don’t want to, I mean.”</p><p>            Nines stopped and glanced back at Gavin, who crossed his arms and looked at the floor.</p><p>            “It’s been a while since you… stayed over.”</p><p>            “Is that an invitation, detective?”</p><p>            Gavin scowled. “Get smart and I’ll send you back to CyberLife.”</p><p>            A smile crossed Nines face, and he turned away from the door. He walked toward the couch, where he settled on one end and picked up a tablet that had been abandoned on the coffee table. “I suppose I could do some work. I heard Fowler sent you home early, and I came here after leaving CyberLife, so we have a day’s worth of paperwork to catch up on.”</p><p>            Gavin sighed and followed Nines, dropping down on the other side of the couch. “I can at least do <em>some</em> work before I sleep.”</p><p>            Nines sent Gavin a disapproving look, but he knew better than to protest. Not that he needed to, anyway. A discreet scan told him Gavin had taken painkillers, likely something recommended to him after his head injury. While Gavin set to work immediately after sitting down, it was barely fifteen minutes before his eyes grew too heavy to keep open. When he set his tablet on his lap and let his head drop against the back of the couch to rest his eyes for a moment, he was asleep.</p><p>            Nines smiled when Gavin’s breaths evened out. He turned off his tablet, set it aside, then reached to take the one that sat abandoned on Gavin’s lap. Nines set the tablets on their power banks to charge, then turned to face Gavin. He smiled and allowed himself a moment of watching Gavin sleep, his face relaxed and free of the stress that usually pinched it.</p><p>            Just before Nines could stand up to move Gavin, the detective shifted. He turned his head toward Nines and shifted his weight to his side, causing his center of gravity to change. He started to fall, but Nines caught him before he faceplant into the cushions, then held him upright as he got to his feet so he could pick Gavin up.</p><p>            “You’re heavier than you look,” Nines muttered as he carried Gavin from the living room to the bedroom. He didn’t dare leave Gavin on the sofa, or he’d hear nothing but complaints about back pain caused by the poor support offered by the cheap cushions.</p><p>            Once he had settled Gavin in the bed with the blankets drawn up neatly, Nines started to return to the living room, though he stopped when he heard Gavin’s breath catch. Immediately he spun around and returned to the bed, where Gavin was starting to twitch. A nightmare.</p><p>            Carefully, Nines shifted Gavin closer to the middle of the bed until there was enough room for him to sit. He set a light hand on Gavin’s forehead, then gently carded his fingers through Gavin’s curls. He kept the motions slow, and soon Gavin’s breathing began to calm. Gavin’s hand shifted and bumped Nines’ leg. Nines caught it with his free hand and laced their fingers together. He stayed there, unmoving, long after Gavin calmed down and resumed sleeping undisturbed by nightmares. Their hands sat intertwined in the small space between them, a silent assurance in the night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys! I've wanted to do a DBH fic for quite a while but never really had the time. After watching the Detroit Evolution fan film by Octopunk Media on YouTube, I had some ideas swirling around and used my day off to work write one out. I hope you all enjoyed, and check out Octopunk Media's film and channel on YouTube!</p><p> </p><p>Detroit Evolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apUn-YMMdZ8<br/>Octopunk Media Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChoSAd3ja0WUe7PQ8S5KjPA</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>